Speak easy during Prohibition in the United States was the name given to illegal drinking establishments or clubs that served hard liquor. “Speak-Easy”, translated from English means “speak quietly” – they had to be ordered in such a quiet voice that the police agents in the hall could not hear. Another interpretation is more suitable – “do not talk.”
In the 20s and early 30s, most speech-easy bars were controlled by the mafia, which made huge profits from the alcohol trade. The alcohol trade brought very high incomes, the lack of state control over products made it possible to sell low-quality alcohol with a high content of fusel oils to customers, and high-quality alcoholic beverages imported as smuggling from abroad were deliberately diluted.
One of the classic American speakeasy bars that still exists is Chumley, located in New York at 86 Bedford Street. There are no inscriptions on the door that could indicate that there is a bar and restaurant behind it. It even has a secret back door leading to Barrow Street so customers can leave quickly in case the police turn up. Now “speak-easy” is the name given to bars that are not easy to find, which can only be reached by calling, and more often by meeting the owners. And also just quiet cozy bars where no music plays and no one screams.
Today, a person can have a great drink in almost any bar, but modern, or “neo” speech-easy, differs from all others in that, in addition to the quality of the drinks offered, the guest seems to move into the past, when the culture of drinking and communication was completely different. In addition, spoke-easy give such an element of exclusivity. On a psychological level, this means a lot, guests feel “in the know”.
By the way, the term “neo” speech-easy was introduced by the world-famous bartender Sasha Petraske. His first Milk and Honey cocktail bar in New York and his second in London are neo-speak-easy standards. For a while, getting into both bars was possible only by appointment – however, the establishment’s phone number was not so easy to find. Now the entrance is open to members of the Milk and Honey club, to become one you need to fill out a form on the site and pay an annual fee. However, the pre-booking has been preserved to this day.
Modern Speak-Easy – “these are just twists on what happened before”, Vyacheslav Lankin, a well-known bartender in the capital circles and co-owner of the Moscow bar “Delicatessen”, is sure, “then people were shot at, and what they didn’t do, it’s just Now it seems to us that everything was very cool. Underground casinos can now be called real speech-easy, that’s where the mystery, the danger, the police are. Although, the danger lies in wait for you when working without a license, because speech-easy is the only format that can afford it.
The main features of Speech Easy, which you should strictly adhere to, are the surroundings: old bartending books and recipes, very serious bartenders, mustaches and suspenders, slow and thoughtful preparation of cocktails … And if all this were not there, it would be quite boring in Speech Easy . Indeed, speaking easy is a game these days, so when you open a bar like this, be prepared to follow its rules. Moreover, the more rules, both for you and for the guests, the more interesting. For example, in the German Rum Trader it is even forbidden to use mobile phones!
“Delicatessen” can only be called a Speech Easy, it does not follow all the rules: almost all the guests of the Speech Easy know each other, yes, in Delhi too; Speak-Easy are illegal, Delhi is not, yes, liqueurs and tinctures are made there, but there is nothing illegal here; you can’t get to speak easy “from the street”, to get to Delhi you will have to wander around the yards, stumble upon a closed door on Sunday or Monday, but you can still get there!
But the classic Speak-Easy Bars, though rare, still exist, Vyacheslav knows one such, but he himself has never been there: “There is or was one real Speech-Easy Bar in Moscow, called “Shkaf”. So, my friends and I have been trying to find him for several years, but to no avail. Someone once said that he had acquaintances there, one of us even got through there once, but now we don’t even know if it has already closed or is still there? It is the “word of mouth” that creates conversations around a real speech easy and is its main feature, because everyone wants to go where they can’t.
It’s good that such establishments can be counted on the fingers, because when something becomes too much, it ceases to be a trend, but becomes a mass market.” The main advantage of the “speak-easy” format over all the others is the ability to shape and raise your guests yourself, because if you want to tell someone, you tell, and if you don’t like someone, then you can just pretend that you don’t know about this place. The main role in the promotion of the bar is played by the guests themselves – those who bring the “newcomer” are doing a powerful advertising campaign when they are preparing him to get into this place.
The location of the speech-easy plays practically no role, because the main condition of the format is that the bar should be hard to find. Therefore, any basement, where the rental price is much lower, or even a piece of the floor of a residential building, will do! It turns out that this is the only bar format that can coexist with apartments. A lower rental price immediately reduces the budget, which means that it is much cheaper to open a speakeasy than any other bar.
In addition, in Speech Easy you can easily set high prices for cocktails, people will know what they are paying for: bartenders make a truly “personal”, personal cocktail for their guest, here you pay for being chosen! But it is imperative to keep the brand – if Old Fashion, then always with good bourbon, if Martini, then with the best gin. Here it is important not to lose face and offer real, true sybarites something unique, something special, for example, for 40-50 types of different whiskeys or, say, all cocktail recipes from the collection of the 20-30s.
But do not forget about the cons.
In order to open your own speech-easy bar, you better be famous, because first of all people will be interested in the name, especially since it will be easier to get promoted this way. But you better get famous before your bar opens, you should be prepared for the fact that speaking easy is most likely not a highly profitable project. Yes, your prices may not be small, but no advertising, no promotion, no crowds on weekends and no network branches!
Speech Easy guests are demanding people, they already consider themselves chosen and dedicated, so it can be a big problem if the bartenders and waiters in Speech Easy forget that they are here for their guests, and not vice versa! Your job is to make your guests happy, not lecture them about what’s good and what’s bad.
To sum up:
Pros: low rental rate; you know all your guests; exciting game; high prices; possible work without a license.
Cons: need to be famous; guests are more demanding; you can not advertise; the project cannot be made network; not the fact that high prices will bring a lot of income.
Features: entourage; an atmosphere of secrecy; it cannot be reached from the street; difficult to find; you can not make noise; small room.